The Hodgman Liberal Government is delivering on its commitment to reduce fees paid by abalone fishers with the tabling of the Living Marine Resources Management Amendment Bill today.
This Government recognises that it is a particularly difficult time for abalone fishers, with volatility in the price for abalone and allowable catch limits, and we are acting.
The Bill will re-balance the two tiered system that has unfairly penalised the overwhelming majority of commercial abalone fishers.
This Bill will reduce the fee paid by fishers with “new” deeds from 8.125 per cent of the quarterly beach price for abalone to seven per cent.
This will amount to a saving for Abalone industry of about $800,000, which will greatly assist the industry at this difficult time.
The second part of this bill will remove uncertainty concerning vicarious liability in the Living Marine Resources Management Act 1995, with the removal of the word “allegedly”.
It was the opinion of the Director of Public Prosecutions that the addition of “allegedly”, which was a late amendment to the Act, made the act unworkable.
Removing “allegedly” will restore the original working of the Act and ensure it can be the necessary deterrent to any careless actions.
The Hodgman Liberal Government is committed to supporting Tasmanian industries, such as the abalone sector, to grow the economy and create jobs.
Jeremy Rockliff, Minister for Primary Industries and Water
